Towson Goalie Tyler White Comes Up Big in 6-5 Vs. UMass

Towson goalie Tyler White had a 16-save performance, leading the Tigers to a 6-5 victory against UMass in a key CAA contest Saturday in Amherst, Mass.

White was solid all day but came through clutch in the end with two key saves — including one game-saver with 13 seconds left.

It was a bounce-back win for the Tigers (8-3, 2-1 CAA), who lost to Hofstra last weekend after winning six straight games. It was a bounce-back for White, who was critical of his play a week ago.

“Last week, I didn't play great, but I grinded it out all week in practice with coach (Scott) Rodgers, who works with me every day. Even when I am not playing good … I owe it to him to keep working hard and grinding to make sure the little things are done correctly like not shrinking on the pipe.

"Goalies have days were they see the ball well, today was a day that I did," White said.

The win Saturday kept Towson's hope to host CAA Tournament play alive. Leading the offense were freshman attackman Joe Seider and junior midfielder Greg Cuccinello, who each had two goals. Seider was able to use his 6-foot-3 frame to fight around the tall Minutemen backline and get his hands free.

“He had a pretty good day today, but could have taken advantage of a few more shots. He is a guy that loves to shoot, and we love him to shoot too. If he can do it more, we will be in much better shape,“ said Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen. Cuccinello was equally impressive with two goals from about 15 yards out that were perfectly placed to beat UMass goalie Zach Oliveri.

UMass started out the season with an impressive 4-0 record with victories over Army, Ohio State, Harvard and Brown. The Minutemen though have come back to earth as they have now lost three out of their last six games.

The Minutemen offense has been held to five goals in two of its last three games including Saturday. There were several unforced turnovers Saturday, as UMass committed 12 on the day. Some rust from having last week off showed up in the first half with seven Minutemen turnovers; UMass was 1-for-3 on clears in the first quarter.

The Minutemen had two chances in the final four minutes of the game to tie it up. Andrew Sokol had a fantastic chance with 3:51 left coming off a timeout. He was behind at X, made a move to his left and beat his defender to get in tight against White. He took the shot but White was able to block it with his body to get the clear.

Towson would try to run out the clock but UMass ended up getting the ball back with 59 seconds left and down by a goal. The Minutemen called a timeout to set up their offense, which was focused on getting Jeff George shots. George would shoot once high and bounce a shot over the cage. UMass backed up both and after a Towson timeout, Nick Mariano would come off of X and White would come up with another big save to win the game for the Tigers.

“I wanted the ball in that situation, I got a chance to go to the cage and can't second guess that," the freshman Mariano said.

One of the highlights of the game for the Minutemen as usual was the play of sophomore Zach Oliveri between the pipes. He made 13 saves, including several in tight. “My defense played well today, it was a one-goal game, so maybe we could have had a few back, but in the end it was a one-goal game.”

Up nextUMass will head on the road next weekend with a trip to Philadelphia to take on Drexel; Towson hosts Penn State under the lights Saturday.